I deserve better

$.23 per mile??? ####, that's harsh... and you DO deserve more, but this isn't exactly the best time to be shopping for an employer. I know, it took me a while to find a decent employer, one who literally runs from coast to coast, which is how I like running. However, you might carry on with your search when off duty or at the house... that FLEETDIRECTORY.COM site has quite a few companies listed on it, and you can check the transport column of Craigslist, not just for your city but for outlying areas as well. In your shoes, I would find a company and go through the whole background check on the side if possible, throwing that company name into a forum like this to see what other drivers have to say... obviously, at some point, your current employer will discover that you have applied elsewhere, but that might not be a bad thing. Who knows, maybe the cheap bast*rds will increase your pay... hang in there, driver, because it WILL get better, one way or another.

 

You've been driving 3 months. You aren't just still wet behind the ears, the water is still pouring out from behind 'em and making a puddle on the floor.

Yeah, 23 cpm is low for flatbed work, unless it is supplemented with laod/unload pay, and you probably could get more elsewhere....that is IF elsewhere will take you with your whopping 3 months experience.

You are driving a truck, and a truck is a mechanical beast. Like ANYTHING mechanical, it will wear out or break occasionally or at the very least require service at regular intervals. SOMEONE has to do the work, and unless you work for big carriers with shops all over the place or a smaller carrier that doesn't trust you to touch their truck other than to drive it, you WILL have to turn a wrench occasionally to keep the truck road worthy. Few (if any) are going to pay you to sit at a shop, and very few company shops will get you in-and-out with no waiting. If you can competently turn a wrench, and if the company allows you to wrench on their truck, it will save you time doing a lot of the simpler tasks yourself so that you can get down the road and earn your peanuts.

 

90 days out and you are not happy?

Did you not do your research prior to accepting the pay rate you are getting?

You need to make it 3 more 90 day stints, with no wrecks or other black marks on your DAC, to be considered as having moved past the steering wheel holder phase. Then you will be in a position to be considered by a company that is not a meat grinder or bottom feeder.

Relax. Brown nose your dispatcher, or at least never complain. Be PROFESSIONAL getting the load from point A to B is only half the job. Enjoy the scenery, keep your nose clean, learn as much as you can, take any load offered. After that one year marker you still have to put in at least another year of good verifiable experience to be considered by the best companies.

The trainee smell has not left you yet, and the fact that you are not satisfied will make you appear either entitled or desperate or just plain ignant.

OBTW 40k miles divided by 90 days (with no breaks) is 444.44 miles per day divided by 11 hours is 40mph. Your either exaggerating or running illegal as heck. (and drop and hook with no waits).

Do not take this as an attack, and get all defensive. I'm just sayin..... Reality Check!

 

I know there is a better way,..............

If you look you'll find it,..........

 

Yeah...it's called going out and getting your own authority.....not lease under someone else...your own authority...It's not easy...being your own boss....

 

I don't know,....

I'm making more now with wages and benefits than I ever could have taken home running my own show,...

 

Your a "CUB", "APPRENTICE", "TRAINEE" You are not a experienced driver. The oil in your engine has more experience than you.... Come on get real. If you go to another company there going to put you in school then with a trainer. Or were you kidding, Ok I get the joke....

 

I'm puttin on my asbestos underwear to say....you only get paid what you EARN and WHERE you earn it! What ever you think you deserve is only a dream, the reality is the job you have, or a different job. As others sorta said, you should know what you are getting into, b4 you get into it! Unfortunately, now that you are there, unless something really unusual can be done, leaving will make things worse for you, until you have completed at least a year.

 

As for wrenching on my truck, I do ALL the minor repairs on whatever truck is assigned to me... saves time and I know the job is done right. A good tool kit is essential for all professional drivers... so is an assortment of bulbs, clamps, nuts & bolts, etc. A cordless drill comes in handy now and then... Don't forget the zip ties and duct tape either for those emergency repairs (lol), enough to see you down the road to a safer location where you can fix the problem. Sounds like some of these hands are pingin' on this guy a bit hard... sure, he's green as f___ at 3 months, but 23 cents per mile?!? After 3 months?!? He should've already upgraded to solo and the company should be payin' him more, especially if he's slingin' chains, tarping loads, or whatever... that's my perspective. Maybe starting wages have gone back down with this f____-up economy. 23 cents per mile is ridiculous.